How to Gain and Spend Prize Tickets

Quick Links

How to Redeem Prize Tickets

Up until the 1.6 update of Stardew Valley, you could expect a special prize the first time you won a holiday contest, but then you only got a modest cash prize for winning again. Money is always helpful in a farming sim like Stardew Valley, but it can be a little disappointing as a victory prize.

However, the 1.6 update has changed all that. Repeat contest winners now receive a special Prize Ticket item, and you can redeem it for something more exciting than simple cash. The only trouble comes from figuring out where this redemption process takes place.

Stardew Valley: How to Get & Use Dehydrator

Stardew Valley players can dehydrate all the fruits and mushrooms they’ve collected using a Dehydrator. Here’s how to get and use this handy item.

How to Win Prize Tickets

Several of the holidays in Stardew Valley feature special contests. Two in particular end with Mayor Lewis giving the winner a special prize: the Egg Festival and the Festival of Ice. Other holidays also include contests and challenges, but your rewards on these days are either the same thing each year or a special festival-only currency.

The 1.6 update hasn’t changed the rewards for the first time you win these events. You’ll still get a Straw Hat the first time you win the Egg Hunt, and you’ll still get a set of tackles and a Sailor’s Cap the first time you win the Ice Fishing Contest. The second time you win (and every win after that), Mayor Lewis will give you a Prize Ticket. Prize Tickets take up an inventory slot, so make sure you have one available when you start the contest.

How to Redeem Prize Tickets

To make use of the Prize Ticket, all you have to do is head over to Mayor Lewis’ house. For reference, his house is southeast of the main plaza and has a truck parked to the right of the building.

The Prize Machine is easy enough to spot once you’re inside, since it has a Prize Ticket icon on a sign behind it. When you interact with the machine, you’ll see a button with a Prize Ticket counter to the right and a set of prizes above. Simply press the button to spend a Prize Ticket and receive the reward that the button’s arrow is pointing to.

The prizes seem to be consistent between games, so the first prize is always 12 Carrot Seeds, the second prize is always a Peach Sapling, the third prize is always 10 Mixed Seeds, and so on. Once you accept a prize, the remaining prizes will move right, and you’ll see what the next prize will be. Prize Tickets never expire, so it’s up to you whether to stock them up and spend them all at once or whether to spend them each time you get a new one.